


The Iron Lady

by MadameBaggio



Series: The Iron Lady [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, F/F, F/M, Genderbending, Movie Spoilers, Tony Stark is a woman, always was
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 04:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3367589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadameBaggio/pseuds/MadameBaggio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toni Stark is the Iron Lady. There is nothing that scares her - maybe Pepper, but just a little bit. But Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Capiscle... That one is an annoying ice cube. Now, what a genius, billionaire, socialite, philanthropist woman on a flying suit supposed to do? Rating went up for language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> At this moment, imagine Toni has always been a woman. This woman is just like the man: a genius, loaded and hyperactive, plus a jerk.
> 
> Toni is a confident woman. She will say whatever she wants – a warning for the use of swear words – and do whatever she wants. Important warning: she is bisexual and it is NOT a big deal.
> 
> Is there a chance that the rating will go up? Not at this point.
> 
> This fanfic is a retelling of the “Avengers” movie and that means many SPOILERS. If you haven’t seen the movie, I recommend you do it first. I will not include everything, because Toni is my main focus and everything else is just background story.
> 
> More notes like this are very likely to appear before or after a chapter.
> 
> I am Brazilian and this is my first work in English. Calbee has been an angel helping me with grammar and stuff, but mistakes are very likely to show up. If they do, sorry about it. I am doing my best. Also, I am quite aware that Brazilian humor is very different from the rest of the world... Let's see how that goes.
> 
> This is part of a series. In Portuguese it has two parts and it is going very well. I hope it will go the same here. Fingers crossed.

There are some moments in our lives that define us forever: the first kiss, the first deception, loss of someone we love, that one person we hate with all we have in us…

For Toni Stark life started in a cave in Afghanistan. 

Not literally. Toni was born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, always had it all and she knew it was what she deserved.

Afghanistan changed it all.

There she saw the consequences of her acts and choices in an all too clear way. It was shocking. Her view of “world” changed abruptly. It was there that she saw how far people would go to get what they wanted, and with Obadiah’s betrayal as the ultimate catalyst to her rebirth.

It would be a mistake to say that Toni was the same woman as before. Sure, she hadn’t turned into a saint, by making vows of chastity or humility, but this change have given her a bigger clarity on her role as an influential woman and the owner of the biggest weapon ever made: the Iron Lady.

Toni didn’t like the name very much, as she couldn’t help but picture herself as Margaret Tatcher every time she heard it, but the press chose it, spread it, and the name stuck. Well, what could be done? She had been called worst - and often.

Then came Vanko, exploding her whole life and Pepper almost left her because of that. There was nothing in this world that Toni would not give Pepper to make her happy, but firing her was not on that list. Fortunately that situation was fixed –with kisses, but Toni sure as hell was not complaining.

Until someone decided to throw the Avengers Initiative on her lap…

Where was the alcohol when she needed it?


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on a deleted scene from the movie. If you are interested you can find it on the blu-ray version of “The Avengers” or on Youtube.
> 
> Thank you all so kindly for the kudos, bookmark and all that took the time to check it!

Captain Steve Rogers, the renowned Captain America, watched the images in the small screen in front of him.

Advertising. That was all he had been.

Waking up 70 years in the future was not a pleasant experience. Finding out that everything he knew and fought for had just disappeared was… Actually there were no words to describe what he was feeling right now.

Knowing that he had been some sort of inspiration had been a consolation prize though, but no. Many people didn’t even know he really existed, as many thought he had been nothing but war propaganda for the American government.

Steve had never felt so lost, and seeing those papers… The files on all his comrades, with the dates of their deaths, were the biggest shock he had. Some of them had died not too long ago, but so very old.

And there was Peggy… Peggy was still alive, retired in a nursing home. He could grab the phone and call her. But what would he say? Even Howard, who seemed bigger than life, was dead. Car accident, or at least it was what his file said.

Howard had one daughter - Toni Stark, known as the Iron Lady. She was listed as a consultant for SHIELD, but her profile –according to the agency, as well – was not very promising. Even her picture was drenched in arrogance. She reminded him of Howard. A lot.

Walking the streets of New York did not help either. It was all so familiar and so different at the same time. SHIELD’s psychologists were always saying that he needed to see how things had changed so he could “let go of the past”.

How could he just let go? What they knew as 70 years of history was in fact what he was experiencing just a few months ago, at least what he felt were few months ago. He didn’t feel like all this time had gone by. For Steve, it was like he had closed his eyes for a nap and woken up a lifetime later.

“Waiting on the Lady?”

“Ma’am?” Steve raised his head, taking his eyes from his drawing, to look at the waitress talking to him.

Beth. That was what the tag on her uniform said. She wasn’t what people would call pretty, but there was something so natural and clean about her that called to people.

“Iron Lady.” She pointed at the huge building right behind her. The obnoxious one, with “Stark” written in big letters. “A lot of people wait here just to see her fly by.”

“It must be quite a sight.” Steve said, because he didn’t know what else to say.

“She is amazing.” Beth agreed with a smile “So beautiful and well dressed…”

Yeah, Steve heard that and a couple of other things about the socialite, but decided not to contribute them for this conversation.

“Maybe another time.” He said instead, pulling money from his wallet.

“Table’s yours as long as you like” she shrugged and put more coffee on his cup “Nobody is waiting on it. Plus, we’ve got free wireless.”

“Radio?” He asked, confused.

Beth, who was already walking to the next table, looked back at him and smiled.

“Ask for her number, you moron.” The old man from the table behind him said.

Better not. Steve had never been good with the dames and, it looked like that the one who was about to come into his life gave “crazy” a whole new meaning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is. Hope you guys enjoy it.
> 
> Next chapter will be on Monday, with lots of Toni being Toni.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I am kind of late. I was supposed to post yesterday and… Well, I will be honest. I forgot. Sorry again.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the kudos. It is very reassuring. I just hope to keep the good work you deserve to read.
> 
> So, finally we are getting somewhere with this and it is time to meet Toni. 
> 
> In this fanfiction Pepper and Toni used to have a relationship and now are just friends. I also made Toni a bit younger than the movies suggest.

Antonella “Toni” Stark was not one to go around bragging…

Okay, actually, she was. But where is the fun in being a billionaire and a genius, if you can’t praise yourself? Toni always thought that modesty was a waste of time, especially fake modesty. She was awesome, so what was wrong with letting the rest of the world know that?

And what she was about to do… Well, Toni deserved to be worshipped just for that.

Her reactor was a perfect fit in the tube with the rest of the wires. It was time to light New York up. 

The Iron Lady flew out of the water, reaching into the night sky of the Big Apple and flying between the buildings. Toni made a series of acrobatic moves, just because she could.

“Good to go on this end. The rest is up to you,” she singsonged.

“You disconnected the transition lines?” Pepper, always the thorough one, asked on the other side of the communicator. “Are we off the grid?”

“Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy.” Toni said, not even trying to conceal her smug smile.

“Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works?” Pepper reminded her from the other side.

“I assume.” Toni said with her customary arrogance. “Light her up.”

The skyscraper started to light up, shining between the other buildings, the name “Stark” putting all the others to shame.

“How does it look?”

“Like Christmas, but with more… Me.”

Pepper laughed. “We’ve gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I’m in DC tomorrow, working on the zoning for the next three buildings.”

“Pepper, you’re killing me.” Toni interrupted Pepper’s super serious monologue. She didn’t know how to play! “The moment. Remember? Enjoy the moment.”

“Then get in here and I will.”

Stark Tower was fantastic. There is none of this fake modesty bullshit, because Toni hated hypocrisy. Even the system that took her suit off was a master piece. The only problem with having a skyscraper with your name on it, was that it became annoyingly easy for people to find you…

“Madam, Agent Coulson of SHIELD, is on the line.” Jarvis voice said right next to her ear.

“Tell him I am PMSing and eating my weight in chocolate.” Toni threw back, without missing a beat.

“Madam, I’m afraid he is insisting.” Jarvis was starting to sound a little bit impatient, and, with his British accent, it was quite charming. Toni loved that about her A.I. as much as she loved the sarcasm.

“Grow a spine, Jarvis.” She shrugged, finally free from the suit. “I have a celebration waiting for me.”

Toni stepped inside her penthouse in the brand new tower. Pepper was already there, wearing shorts and barefoot, looking at the monitors and probably worrying about a million little things. It was one of the most annoying things about her, and also one of the things Toni adored the most. Pepper was always so focused and serious. The exact opposite of Toni.

Sometimes she wondered if this was the reason why they didn’t work out as a couple, even though she knew – deep down inside – that it was not what happened. They mixed things up. Pepper was, and would always be, Toni’s best friend, the most trustworthy person in her life – not forgetting Happy and Rhodey. They should have left that way, but they wanted to try. Toni delayed the ending for months, scared that Pepper would leave her life for good if they broke up. She should have given the other woman more credit than that. There was a good reason for the redhead to be her CEO.

Now she could see that dating had brought them even closer. The sexual tension had dissipated. But it was not like Toni had stopped flirting with Pepper. One thing had absolutely nothing to do with the other.

“Levels are holding steady…” Pepper was biting her bottom lip. “I think.”

“Of course they are. I was directly involved.” Toni said hugging the redhead from behind. “Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?”

Pepper rolled her eyes and batted Toni’s hands away, so she could turn and look at her. “Well…” She started with sarcasm. “I wouldn’t know now, would I?”

“Hey!” Toni pinched Pepper’s waist, making her jump. “Come off it. All this came from you.”

Pepper laughed, “No. All this came from this.” She said tapping the arc reactor that Toni’s shirt left in the open with her nail.

Toni looked down, seeing what could be kind of considered her heart – it was really a question of point of view – shining, then made a careless gesture with her hand.

“Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself… Twelve percent credit.” She conceded generously.

“Twelve percent?” Pepper raised an eyebrow that was saying a lot on itself.

“An argument can be made for fifteen.”

Pepper snorted – in a very lady-like fashion – and started walking. “Twelve percent? For my baby?” She threw over her shoulder.

“Well, I did all the heavy lifting.” Toni started, “Literally. I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you.”

Pepper was giving the other woman a warning look. Toni, as usual, ignored it and kept talking. “My private elevator…”

“You mean our elevator?”

“…was teeming with sweaty workmen.” Toni watched as Pepper ignored her and poured champagne into a glass. “I’m going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren’t I?”

“Not gonna be that subtle.” She warned with a sweet as pie smile, giving Toni a glass.

The brunette threw herself on the floor, right beside Pepper. “I’ll tell you what. Next building’s gonna say ‘Potts’ on the tower.”

“On the lease.” The redhead counter offered.

Toni pulled her glass before Pepper could toast with her.

“Call your mom. Can you bunk over?” She made a face.

Pepper made some kind of angry face and slapped Toni on the shoulder, but they were both laughing any way.

“Madam…” Jarvis voiced from somewhere in the room. “The telephone. I’m afraid my protocols have been overridden.”

Toni rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone just in time to hear Agent Super Nanny mumbling something. What Pepper saw in this guy was beyond her genius understanding.

“You have reached the life model decoy of Toni Stark. Please leave a message.” She slapped Pepper’s leg when she started giggling.

“Stark, this is urgent.” The agent replied, looking like he was asking Heaven for strength.

“Then leave it urgently.” Toni was showing no mercy to The Suit tonight.

In the next moment the elevator doors opened, revealing Agent No-Emotion putting his mobile away.

“Security breach!” Toni hollered and pointed at Pepper. “It’s on you.” Pepper ignored it -again!- and got up smiling.

“Phil! Come on in.”

Toni was shocked to see Pepper almost skipping in the direction of the man. “Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent.” She said, getting up quickly.

Pepper just carried on, ignoring Toni and gave Agent Phil a thousand watts smile. Seriously… That explained why everybody called him Coulson and he was always looking like he had sucked a lemon. “Phil” wasn’t a very intimidating name…

Also, Toni couldn’t understand what Pepper saw in the guy. Okay, she kind of could. He had a killer pair of baby blues and his serious way was a teeny-tiny bit sexy… But it wasn’t like Pepper to be so slow to do anything. Maybe Agent Ice was not interested? Could it be he was looking for a guy of his own?

“We’re celebrating.” Pepper was telling the agent when Toni got closer.

“Which is why he can’t stay.” Toni had the biggest fakest smile possible. “And there is, of course, the fact I am still PMSing.”

Phil ignored her. What was up with that? Were the stars saying today was the day? He extended his hand to her.

“We need you to look this over.” He said, offering her some kind of folder. “As soon as possible.”

“I don’t like being handed things.” She said with no regret whatsoever, looking at her nails. Ew, she need a manicure A.S.A.P.

“That’s fine, cause I love to be handed things. So, let’s trade.” Pepper declared, all sunshine and rainbows. 

So, with that Pepper-way-of-being, she gave her glass to Coulson, grabbed the folder from his hands and, when Toni least expected, she had the damn folder in her hands and no champagne glass.

“Thank you.” Pepper said to both of them, completely satisfied with herself, clinking her glass against Phil’s.

The traitor.

“Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday.” Toni said petulantly, not even looking at what she had in hands.

“This isn’t a consultation.” Coulson said seriously.

“Is this about the Avengers?” Pepper asked worried, then seemed to realize what she just said “Which… I… Know nothing about.” 

Phil threw a glare Toni’s way, and she had the great pleasure of ignoring him. Ha! Take that!

“The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought,” Toni said “And I didn’t even qualify.” 

“I didn’t know that either.” Pepper offered quickly.

“Yeah, apparently I’m volatile, self-obsessed and don’t play well with others.” Toni kept saying while she walked to the back of the room in the direction of her desk.

“That I did know.” Pepper smirked.

“This isn’t about personality profiles anymore.” Coulson said.

Toni’s answer? A very non-elegant snort.

“Whatever. Miss Potts, got a second?”

Pepper excused herself from Phil and went to talk with Toni.

“You know, I thought we were having a moment.” The billionaire said without taking her eyes from the screen.

“I was having twelve percent of a moment.” Pepper said dryly, making the other woman laugh. “This seems serious. Phil’s pretty shaken.”

“How would you know if…” Toni turned to her, “Why is he Phil?”

Pepper arched a very meaningful eyebrow that made Toni smirk. 

“What is all of this?” The redhead wanted to know with her eyes going back to the images.

“This is…” Toni threw her hands up, spreading the images in holograms all around them. “This” She finished, kind of shocked. 

Pepper was also without words. It was hard to understand in one go all that she was seeing. They had read the ‘unofficial’ reports on what happened at New Mexico and the tales that went around the internet about the green monster at Culver, but what SHIELD was showing them now… 

“I’m going to take the jet to D.C. tonight.” Pepper decided.

“Tomorrow.” Toni whined.

“You have homework.” Pepper reminded her, pointing at the holograms “You have a lot of homework.”

Toni sighed. “Well, at least one of us can have some fun…”

“Hm?” Pepper was confused.

“Ask the Man In Black over there for a ride and then...” Toni got closer to Pepper’s ear and whispered a very specific idea.

“Toni!” Pepper was blushing like a teenager, but there was a certain knowing smile on her face.

“Now, go, before I decide that I want to keep you here.” Toni turned Pepper in the door’s direction and slapped her butt.

Toni’s eyes went back to the footage on Captain America. Her father had spoken of him very often, always remembering what a great man he had been. Toni was tired of knowing she was a disappointment for being a woman, which her father had no need to keep reminding her.

But the Captain had gone missing years ago… What did SHIELD know that she didn’t?

XxX

Pepper threw a glare at Toni for the slap, but the other woman was not paying attention anymore. The CEO took a deep breath and opened a smile on Phil’s direction.

“So, any chance you’re driving by La Guardia, Phil?” she asked kindly.

Phil seemed to think for a second, before leaving his champagne flute on a side table. “Would you like a ride?”

“If it is not a bother to you…”

“It would be a pleasure, Pepper.” He offered her his arm, and Pepper accepted very easily.

Maybe Toni was right…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hell yeah, I am shipping Pepper and Phil!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> We will have more next Monday.
> 
> xoxo


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before anything else... Rating went up for language. I always got the impression that Tony Stark would say a whole lot of "fucks" if Avengers weren't PG.
> 
> Secondly.... Wow. Thank you so much for the kudos and commentaries. You guys are awesome.
> 
> We will keep going deeper into the movie. I copied a lot of the scenes and cut another bunch, because what really matters here is Toni. Hope you all enjoy it.

“Captain, ETA in 10 minutes.”

Steve knew that a lot of things could go wrong in ten minutes. He dearly hoped this was not the case.

As soon as SHIELD scanners found Loki, Captain and the Widow jumped on a quinjet and flew to Germany. Steve felt anxious in a way that was not normal for him. He knew that, in a way, people were putting too much faith in him. What if he was a fossil? A memory of a past that didn’t matter anymore? What if he was not as solid and firm as he once was?

However, now was not the moment for self-doubts. Loki had managed to make too big of a mess in a couple of days of running around. He needed to be stopped.

“There he is.” Natasha’s voice informed through the communicator.

Steve could clearly see Loki in the middle of the square, between kneeled people, but there was an old man, confronting the villain. This could not end well.

“Agent Romanoff, I will be jumping from here.”

Natasha must have heard weirder things in her time, because she didn’t even blink before opening the ramp for Steve to jump. Loki was so entertained by his Super Villain role that he didn’t even see the Captain, until his attack hit the shield and threw him to the ground.

“You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.” Steve said gripping his shield tighter.

Loki stood slowly, pure hatred in his eyes. “The soldier,” He sneered. “The man out of time.”

“I’m not the one who’s out of time.” Steve replied calmly. He had not lost control in face of HYDRA and its men, so it wouldn’t be this man who ridiculed him with such petty insults to snap his patience.

He could clearly hear the quinjet behind him. Natasha had Loki in sight. 

“Loki, drop the weapon and stand down.”

Loki laughed maliciously before throwing an attack against the jet. Natasha managed to evade him and Steve took the chance to jump on Loki.

The demi-god might be a bully, but he could hold his own. Maybe it should have been expected, with everything Steve had heard about the Asgardians. Suddenly the tables had turned and the soldier was the one on the ground with Loki looming over him.

“Kneel.” The demi-god ordered.

“Not today.” Steve managed a punch at Loki and stood.

Then there was this loud music coming from the speakers on the quinjet, something about not caring about a bad reputation. Steve did not think this was Natasha`s doing.

Loki and he looked up to the sky at the same time, just at the right moment to see the Iron Lady coming towards them. She fired against Loki before he could do anything else and he went tumbling to the ground.

The Lady landed and pointed quite an arsenal to the villain. “Make your move, Reindeer Games.” Loki’s armour disappeared and he had his hands up in surrender. “Good move.”

“Miss Stark.” Steve greeted, still trying to catch his breath.

“Captain.”

Steve was under the impression that her presence should worry him. A lot.

XxX

Toni heard Natasha talking quietly to Fury, but ignored for the moment. There was something about Steve Rogers and it was not the fact that he had an amazing ass or a chin that begged to be bitten. Or a six pack that had to be licked. Repeatedly.

Okay, she was missing the point.

She heard her father talking about Captain America a million times through the years. In the beginning she hated the super soldier, because her father obviously had wanted a son like him, instead of her. 

After a heart to heart with Fury (who would’ve thought) Toni was starting to consider that maybe – and that was a fucking huge maybe – she had seen her father as a tyrant that hated her for being a woman because it was easier. Easier to resent him. Still, she planned on keeping some of her doubts. In the meantime it was interesting to meet the soldier that Howard admired so much.

It was also quite funny to see the Captain feeling so uncomfortable in her presence. He kept looking to any direction that wasn’t the one she was in, like her eyes on him made him nervous. She could vaguely remember Howard saying something about him… He was shy and awkward around women, like he couldn’t handle them.

Would Captain America be a virgin? Now that was a patriotic act that Toni would love to take care of.

“I don’t like it.” Steve said suddenly, his eyes on Loki.

“What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?” Toni asked, her eyes sliding to the quiet villain.

Loki could be crazier than Lindsay Lohan, but he had such symmetric face. What were those cheekbones? Pure art.

“I don’t remember it ever being that easy,” Steve said “This guy packs a wallop.”

Toni shrugged, or as much as one could in the suit.

“Still, you’re pretty spry for an older fellow. What’s your thing? Pilates?” She knew she probably shouldn’t be trying to annoy her new bestie, but what else could she do right now?

Steve threw her a confused look. “What?”

“It’s like calisthenics” She used an affected air on purpose. “You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle. Rock’n’roll, drugs… The sexual revolution.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. He was not looking very happy right now.

“Fury didn’t tell me he was calling you in.” It wasn’t a question.

Toni rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s a lot of things Fury doesn’t tell you, honey.”

Steve opened his mouth to reply when lightning struck and the quinjet trembled.

“Where’s this coming from?” Natasha asked to who knows who.

Steve caught Loki looking out the window, worry clear in his face.

“What’s the matter?” He nettled, “Scared of a little lightning?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows” was the answer he got.

The quinjet shook once more and Toni marched to the ramp.

“What are you doing?” Steve demanded.

Toni ignored him and opened the ramp. In the next second a huge blond dude entered the quinjet, knocked Toni with a fucking hammer, grabbed Loki and left.

Toni knew very well to whom that amazing body belonged. “Now there’s that guy.” She grumbled. That was Thor and he was in the archives SHIELD had shown her.

“Another Asgardian?” Natasha asked from the cockpit.

“Think the guy’s a friendly?” Steve asked.

“Doesn’t matter. If the asshole frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract’s lost,” she said marching down the ramp.

“Stark, we need a plan of attack!”

“I have a plan, baby. Attack.” And then she jumped to the skies.

Toni was an only child and had always been – and still was – really selfish. What belonged to her, was hers and hers alone. And Loki was her prisoner. Sexy and built would have to wait his turn.

“Jarvis, can you trace them?”

“Loki and Thor have landed on that rock formation at your three o’clock.” Jarvis said. “May I advise on a more diplomatic approach, madam? We may be able to prevent an intergalactic incident.”

Toni laughed, “Sometimes I wonder if you don’t know me at all or if you enjoy getting frustrated, Jarvis.”

Toni could see Thor arguing with Loki and didn’t even hesitated - she tackled the blond wonder.

They both rolled around the forest ground, but what matters was that Toni was the one standing.

The Greek god – opsie, the Nordic one, actually –got up and Toni raised her face plate.

“Do not touch me again!” The god thundered.

“Then don’t fucking touch my stuff.” Toni replied.

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

“Shakespeare in the park?” She retorted, because the whole thing was ridiculous and kind of pointless “Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”

“This is beyond you, Metal Woman. Loki will face Asgardian justice!”

“He gives up the Cube, he’s all yours. Until then…” She lowered the plate to show she meant business and things could go south very fast now. “Stay out of the way.” She turned her back and started going back. Now she had to find the Prince of Darkness. “Fucking tourist.” She grumbled.

That was when something hit her from the back. Her sensors had taken quiet the beating.

“Oh, he didn’t!” She growled.

Fuck diplomacy. She was going to kick that idiot’s ass.

She managed to tackle him again, but then he hit her with that fucking hammer, sending the billionaire far. He spun the weapon, attracting a lightning that hit Toni right in the middle of her chest.

“Power at 400% capacity.” Jarvis informed.

A smirk crossed Toni’s lips. “Suck it.”

She sent a blast that threw Thor against a tree, but the giant refused to stay down, and soon was coming at her again. After that Toni lost the notion of what the Hell was going on.

She knew that at some point they had flown around and she had rubbed his face against some mountain. She also could remember many punches and being thrown around.

Toni was absolutely confident that, had the fight been allowed to continue, she would have been the winner, but the annoying boy scout threw his shield in the middle of it.

“Hey!”

Thor and Toni looked on Steve’s direction. He must be felling damn hot in the top of that tree.

“That’s enough.” He jumped to the ground, staring at them. “Now, I don’t know what you plan on doing here…”

“I’ve come here to put an end to Loki’s schemes.” Thor cried.

“Then prove it. Put that hammer down.”

“Hum, yeah, no. Bad call. He loves his hammer.” Even before Toni could finish that thought, Thor knocked her far with his hammer.

“You want me to put the hammer down?” He yelled.

He jumped on Steve, who used his shield to protect himself. The force of the impact was such that everything around them was flattened. Thor included.

The three of them got up slowly. They looked at each other. “Are we done here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is. Hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Ah the song is Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation". I thought it was kind of fitting.
> 
> See you all next Monday!
> 
> xoxo


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter there is a mention of rape. It is not a scene and nothing graphic, but it will be mentioned.
> 
> Once again, I want to thank you my lovely beta. She is a miracle worker. I guess writing is the only time I doubt my English...

The whole forest situation made Toni remember all the reasons why she worked alone. It was exactly because of that she left, leaving the two idiots to deal with Loki and went back to her Tower.

She needed two things: a triple glass of whatever (1) and a little something she developed with love for Nick and SHIELD. She has been suspicious of Fury for a while now and this whole Loki thing was ringing alarm bells all over her head.

“Madam, a call from Miss Potts.” Jarvis voice alerted.

“Pass her.” she said finishing her glass in one go. “Pepper, love of my life! How was your day?”

There was a pause and then… “Toni, you are drinking!”

“You can bet your sweet ass that I am.” Toni said sitting in one of the stools close to the bar, finishing some little details in his present for Black Beard.

Pepper sighed on the other end of the line. “Okay. I called because I saw the news about Germany. I guess you deserve a drink.”

“Try a few...” Toni murmured, refilling his glass.

“Toni! Don’t get drunk.”

“Of course I won’t, Peps.” She said calmly, getting up and putting the small devices in her pocket. “I will be flying out in a couple of minutes and I don’t want to crash against the Statue of Liberty”.

“Where are you going?” Pepper wanted to know.

“I’m gonna see Phil.” Toni teased “Wanna send a message? You never told me if you abused him in the car.”

“Toni! Of course I didn’t.”

Toni rolled her eyes, knowing that Pepper wouldn’t see it.

“Well, you should have. Who knows? Maybe I’ll try my luck today…” she sang.

“Don’t you dare.” Pepper said seriously.

“Then do something, woman! I made you my CEO for a reason, you know? Don’t be such a pussy.”

“Hey! That kind of language is not acceptable, Toni.” Pepper said, but Toni could hear the smile in her voice “But… Yeah, okay. You’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now I gotta bounce. When are you coming back?”

“Tomorrow, around the end of the day.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

XxX

SHIELD’s Helicarrier was... Well, massive. Toni didn’t see anything that interesting on it, besides finding the whole thing unpractical. Now, if she had been the one to design it… Oh man. It would be a masterpiece.

She had called Phil on her way over and the Agent had promised an open hangar for her to land on. It wasn’t hard to find it and, getting there, she noticed he was the one waiting for her.

“Hey, Phil!” She greeted, lifting her face plate.

“Miss Stark.” He was still the most unexpressive man Toni knew. What did Pepper see in this guy? “We arranged a place for your suit.”

“Very nice of you, Agent.” Toni saluted him.

Phil just gave her a deadpan look, then turned and started walking. Toni followed him, sometimes waving to the agents passing by.

Coulson took her to a door that he opened by pressing a small control. Phil indicated that Toni could go ahead. She got inside what looked like a closet and then walked out without her suit.

“What?” She asked when she saw Phil arching an eyebrow.

Actually, she knew exactly why he was making that disapproving face. She was wearing a long sleeved Black Sabbath t-shirt, cutoffs and cowboy boots. And, okay, maybe the shorts would look better on a 15 year old girl, but she wore it just to see Phil and Fury’s face.

She was having fun already.

Phil opened his mouth and Toni had the impression that he would start this whole lecture on appropriate attire on SHIELD’s sacred ground, but he changed his mind at the last second and said instead, “This way.”

Pepper thought that Toni was jealous of Coulson, and that was the reason why she kept pestering him. Pepper was wrong. Sure, Toni was jealous of many people when it came to Pepper, but that was because she considered the other woman one of the most amazing people on Earth. She didn’t believe that anyone deserved the redhead. Because she – Toni Fucking Stark – didn’t deserve Pepper, who else in the world would?

But that was not the reason she loved to annoy Coulson. Deep down, she liked him. The Agent was a good man and he fought for what he believed in. Toni annoyed him because it was fun. That was it.

“You know, Pep is in DC.” She offered suddenly.

Phil threw her a wary look. “I know. I dropped her at the airport.” He said.

“Well, maybe you should visit her.” Toni offered. “I can lend you a limo! Then you can be all Kevin Costner in ‘No Way Out’, say ‘show us the monuments’ and then…” Toni wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. (2)

Phil blushed but it seemed he was fighting a smile. “I believe Sean Young was the one to say that.,” was his answer.

“I’m just saying that you…”

“Iridium.” Someone said at the end of the corridor “What did they need the Iridium for?”

“It’s a stabilizing agent.” Toni answered, because she loved knowing more than everybody else, but she couldn’t just forget about Phil yet. “I can take you there, buddy.” She said to him quickly. “We need to make that spark between you to explode.” She gave him a wink before going back to addressing the rest of the room “Means the portal won’t collapse on itself, like it did on SHIELD.” 

Now that the whole gang was together things were bound to get interesting.

“No hard feelings, Point Break.” She said patting Thor’s arm “You’ve got a mean swing.” Then she stopped and squeezed his arm, because that couldn’t be real. “And wow, keep working out, darling.” 

She made a dismissive gesture when Thor opened his mouth to say something.

“Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long as Loki wants.” She walked to the bridge, where Black Beard stood “Hm, raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails.” All the agents working stopped to look at her, but she didn’t care, because… “That man is playing GALAGA! Thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.” She made a pause and covered her left eye with her hand. “How does Fury even see these?”

“He turns.” A brunette said. Hm, who was that?

“Well, that sounds exhausting.” Toni decided “The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source.” She slipped one of her presents to Fury without anyone realizing it, putting the small device on one of the monitors. “A high energy density, something to kick start the Cube.”

“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” The Icy Agent wanted to know.

“Last night.”

The brunette arched an eyebrow, obviously impressed.

“The packet, Selvig’s notes, the Extraction Theory papers.” Toni looked around and saw a bunch of confused faces. “Am I the only one who did the reading?”

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Cap asked.

“He’d have to heat the Cube to a 120- million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb Barrier.” Bruce Banner, who was really cute when he wasn’t green and angry, said.

“Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.” Toni completed, because now there was someone to play with.

“Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.” Bruce finished.

“Sexy and smart” Toni smiled “Finally, someone who speaks English.”

“Is that what just happened?” Steve said, but Toni was not worried about him in the moment.

She got closer to him and offered her hand. “It’s good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled.” She said, since it was the truth. “And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

Bruce looked disconcerted. Sometimes she had that effect on people. It was a gift.

“Thanks.” He said hesitantly.

“The ‘crazy scientist’ style is also kinda sexy.” She felt it was only fair to add this, since it was also true.

Bruce looked really close to asking for help when Nick came out of nowhere.

“Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him, Stark.” He asked.

“Let’s start with that stick of his.” Cap suggested, “It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.”

“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the Cube.” Nick said “And I’d like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor asked confused. “I do not understand.”

“I do!” Steve said suddenly, looking damn proud of himself “I understood that reference.”

“Cute.” Toni rolled her eyes. “Shall we play, doctor?” She asked Bruce, passing her arm through his, and resting her head on his shoulder.

The doctor seemed really uncomfortable with such proximity. Toni couldn’t blame him, it must have been a while since anyone who knew exactly who he was came so close without fear. Bruce was about to learn that she had no interest in keeping a distance.

“Come on, Doc. Let’s play.” She prompted, pulling his arm.

Bruce smiled shyly. “This way, ma’am.”

XxX

Steve watched Toni take Bruce to the labs and sighed.

She was trouble. Steve admired and respected her to a certain extent. Toni had a privileged life and she had no need to do what she did. The Iron Lady was her choice, and it was admirable.

However she was irresponsible, arrogant and wasn’t taking any of this seriously. Maybe leaving her alone with Banner was not a good idea.

“Stop worrying, Captain.” Natasha, who had been observing him, said. “She is not nearly as bad as you think.”

“I have my doubts, Agent Romanoff.” He replied honestly.

“Did you know that she was kidnapped on the orders of the man she trusted the most? And then that she was then kept on Afghanistan for months, but instead of building the missiles they wanted she designed the first suit?” Natasha asked him.

“Yes.” Steve answered, of course he knew that. “It is all on her files.”

“Do you know what is not on her file? What she must have been through when she was there.” Natasha arched an eyebrow, but wasn’t showing any emotion. “A beautiful woman in a cave full of armed men? I can guess pretty well what happened to her.”

Steve felt his throat dry. He knew exactly what Natasha was talking about. How many victims had he rescued from HYDRA’s facilities? Women who were there for no other reason than… Being made as playthings for disgusting men.

“Do you think…”

“I am almost certain.” Natasha cut. “This would also explain why all her relationships since then have been with women.”

Steve had read somewhere that Toni was bi and one of the biggest supporters of same-sex marriage and adoption rights for gay couples.

“Wait a second. How do you know all of this?” He asked.

“I worked for her, while undercover. That was how I prepared her profile for SHIELD.”

Natasha said this last sentence in the exact same tone she said everything else, in that blasé way that was so hers, but this time, there was something…

Steve’s eyes became saucers. “Did you and Toni…”

“That is classified, Captain Rogers.” Natasha got up, but Steve had the impression that the spy was hiding a smile.

Wow…

XxX

“The gamma radiations are definitely consistent with Selvig’s reports on the Tesseract.” Bruce said while he is passing a sensor over Loki’s magic wand “But it’s gonna take weeks to process.”

“If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops.” Toni called from where she was, eyes on a screen.

Bruce gave a dry chuckle. “All I packed was a tooth brush.”

Toni laughed and got closer to him. “You know, you should come by Stark Tower some time. Top ten floors all R&D. You’d love it, it’s candy land.” She carefully picked on of the instruments left in one of the tables.

“Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke… Harlem.” Bruce said embarrassed.

“Well, I promise a stress-free environment.” Toni said walking behind him. “No tension. No surprises.” She used the small tool to shock Bruce.

“Ow!”

“Nothing?” She asked looking into his eyes, looking for any trace of green.

“Hey! Are you nuts?” She heard Captain Boring asking as he was coming into the lab.

“Jury’s out.” She didn’t even spare him a glance “You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums? Huge bag of weed? Tantric sex?”

“Is everything a joke to you?” Steve insisted.

“Funny things are.” Toni shrugged.

“Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny.” Then, being the good boy he was, Steve turned to Bruce “No offense, doctor.”

“No, it’s alright.” Bruce looked ridicously resigned. “I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle pointy things. “ He threw an amused glance to the object on Toni’s hand.

“You’re tiptoeing, darling. You need to strut.” Toni declared, dropping the small tool and picking up a small bag.

“And you need to focus on the problems, Miss Stark.” Cap said tersely.

“You think I’m not?” She started picking blueberries of her bag and eating them. “Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn’t he telling us? I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.”

“You think Fury’s hiding something?” Steve asked.

“He’s a spy. Captain, he’s The Spy. His secrets have secrets.” She threw another blueberry in her mouth. “It’s bugging him too, isn’t it?”

Bruce, suddenly seeing himself as the center of attention, stuttered, “Hum… I just wanna finish my work here and…”

“Doctor?” Steve gently prompted.

Bruce took off his glasses and sighed. “‘A warm light for all mankind’, Loki’s jab at Fury about the Cube.”

“I heard it.” Steve said.

“Well, I think it was meant for you.” Bruce pointed at Toni. “Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.”

Since he had been such a good boy, Toni offered him a blueberry and Bruce took it. She had to resist the impulse to scratch him behind his ear.

“The Stark Tower?” Steve asked, “That big ugly…” Toni threw him a glare. “Building in New York?”

“It’s powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source.” Bruce explained. “That building will run itself for what? A year?”

“It’s just the prototype.” Toni shrugged once again. “I’m kind of the only name on clean energy right now. That’s what he’s getting at.” She explained to Steve.

“So, why didn’t SHIELD bring her in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?” Bruce finished. Yes, he also had his doubts.

“I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD’s secure files.” Toni said easily, checking on her cellphone for the progress on said program.

“I’m sorry, did you say…” Steve started saying, but Toni was kind of tired of him now.

“Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we’ll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide.” She said, finally looking at Steve. “Blueberry?” She offered, because she knew how to be polite. Sometimes.

“Yet you’re confused on why they didn’t want you around?” Steve said, not even looking at her offering.

Toni just rolled her eyes. “An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome.”

“I think Loki’s trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don’t stay focused, he’ll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them.” Boy scout said firmly.

Toni yawned “Following is not really my style.”

“And you’re all about style, aren’t you?” Steve arched an eyebrow.

“Of the people in this room, which one is; a) wearing a spangly outfit, and b) not of use?” She retorted also arching her eyebrow.

“Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?” Bruce tried to reason.

For a second, it even looked like Steve might agree, but the good soldier won.

“Just find the Cube.” He ordered before leaving the room.

“That’s the guy my dad never shut up about?” Toni made a sound of disgust. “Wondering if they shouldn’t have kept him on ice.”

 

“The guy’s not wrong about Loki.” Bruce said, fairly, moving to work on another screen. “He does have a jump on us.”

“What he’s got is an ACME dynamite kit.” Toni said, going back to the place where she started, to check something else on the screen. “It’s gonna blow up in his face, and I’m gonna be there when it does.”

“And I’ll read all about it.” Bruce said.

“Or you’ll be suiting up with the rest of us.” Toni said turning to him.

Bruce gave another of those dry humorless chuckles he used to use when he was the topic of conversation. Like he was a bad joke.

“Ah, see, I don’t get a suit of armor. I’m exposed, like a nerve. It’s a nightmare.” His voice was covered in bitterness.

“You know, I’ve got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it.” She touched her finger to the arc reactor, hidden by her shirt. “This little circle of light. It’s a part of me now, not just armor. It’s a... Terrible privilege.” She got closer to him again, looking at him through the screen he was trying to hide behind.

“But you can control it.” Bruce argued.

“Because I learned how.”

“It’s different.” He went back to looking at the screen, trying to ignore her.

“Hey, I’ve read all about your accident.” Toni said, pushing the screen out of her way “That much gamma exposure should have killed you.”

“So you’re saying that the Hulk…” Bruce’s eyes went to the ground “The Other Guy… Saved my life? That’s nice.” He said, but his tone was mocking, “It’s a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?”

“I guess we’ll find out, honey.” Toni raised her hand and held Bruce’s chin gently.

“You might not enjoy that.” He warned.

“You just might.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) I know many fans of Iron Man complain about the movies not talking about his alcoholism. Well, I will not talk about that either, for a very simple reason: alcoholism is a very serious subject. It is a problem that can destroy families and lives, and brings a lot of pain. I don’t want to make this fanfic too heavy, what the subject would do. I also don’t think I can treat it with the severity it requires. Toni will still drink way too much, but won’t cross that line.
> 
> (2) The movie, “No way out” is a very good movie. Highly recommended. 
> 
> So I truly Love Bruce and Toni as BFF's.  
> Thank you all for the cudos and comments. They make me very happy.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the kudos and support.
> 
> I hope there are not too many mistakes with my English so far...
> 
> I am sorry to say this chapter is basically going to be a rip-off from the movie. I swear it is just a bit more, before the second part of the story, where everything will be brand new and we will have Thor 2, Agents of SHIELD, Captain America 2 and a whole lot of SteveXToni.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it.

“What are you doing, Miss Stark?” Nick Fury demanded upon entering the lab.

“Uh… Kind of been wondering the same thing about you.” Toni said from her perch on one of the tables.

“You’re supposed to be locating the Tesseract.” Nick insisted.

“We are.” Bruce said “The model’s locked and we’re sweeping for the signature now.” He pointed at one of the screens “When we get a hit, we’ll have the location within half a mile.”

“And you’ll get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss.” Toni turned her attention back to the screen closest to her, and asked “What is ‘Phase 2’?”

Steve came barging into the room looking beyond pissed and put what looked like a bad ass alien weapon on the table. “Phase 2 is SHIELD using the Cube to make weapons.” He looked over to Toni and Bruce, “Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me.”

Nick took a deep breath and turned to Steve. “Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract.” He said in his most assuring voice, “This does not mean that we’re…”

“I’m sorry, Nick.” Toni cut. “What were you lying?” She asked turning one of the screens in his direction, where all of SHIELD weapons projects were in plain view.

“I was wrong, director. The world hasn’t changed a bit.” Steve said flatly.

Thor and Natasha got into the room at this exact moment. The red head seemed to be expecting problems even before she was there, which only made the tension in the lab increase.

“Did you know about this?” Bruce asked her.

“You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?” She asked calmly. In Toni’s opinion, Natasha’s condescendence was only making it worse.

“I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed.” Bruce lashed back.

“Loki’s manipulating you.” Natasha warned.

“And you’ve been doing what exactly?” He replied sarcasticly.

“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.” Apparently even Natasha had a limit…

“And I’m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy.” He said in a tone that broke no arguments. Bruce pushed one of the screens to himself. “I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.”

Nick finally seemed to realize he had no other choice. “Because of him.” He pointed at Thor.

“Me?” The blond giant asked, clearly confused.

“Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town.” Nick explained, “We learned that not only we are not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned.” 

“My people want nothing but peace with your planet.” Thor protested.

“But you’re not the only people out there, are you?” Nick countered. “And you are not the only threat.” Now he was speaking to all of them. “The world’s filling up with people who can’t be matched, that can’t be controlled.”

“Like you controlled the Cube?” Steve suggested dryly.

“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies.” Thor said. “It is a sign to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war.”

“A higher form?” Steve repeated shocked.

“You forced our hand.” Nick insisted “We had to come up with something.”

“Nuclear deterrent.” Toni said ironically. “Cause that always calms everything right the fuck down.”

Nick threw a skeptical glare at her. “Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?”

“I’m sure that if she still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep…”

“”Wait, wait! Hold on.” Toni interrupted the Captain, “How is this now about me?”

“I’m sorry, isn’t everything?” Steve said with fake solicitude.

“I thought humans were more evolved than this.” Thor said.

“Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?” Nick said angry.

“You treat your champions with such mistrust.” Thor accused.

“Are you boys really this naïve?” Natasha rolled her eyes. “SHIELD monitors potential threats.”

“Captain America is on threat watch?” Bruce mocked.

“We all are.” She affirmed.

“Wait, you’re on that list?” Toni turned to Steve. “Are you above or below angry bees?”

“Stark, so help me God, if you make one more wisecrack…”

“Threat!” She exclaimed throwing her arms up. “Verbal threat! I feel threatened.”

“Show some respect!” Steve asked irritated.

“To what?” Toni snorted. “I see no one here that deserves my respect.”

“You speak of control, yet you court chaos.” Thor said.

“But this is his M.O., isn’t it?” Bruce said bitter, attracting everybody’s attention to himself. “I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re…” He took a breath. “We’re a time bomb.”

“You need to step away.” Nick said seriously.

“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?” Toni asked, throwing an arm around Steve shoulders.

“You know damn well why.” Steve said stepping away from Toni. “Back off!”

“Oh, I’m starting to want you to make me.” She was daring him now.

“I don’t hit women.” Steve said.

“Oh no, soldier, you are not hiding behind that bullshit.” Toni poked him right in the middle of his chest. “I’ll put you flat on the floor and then we can see who’s not hitting girls.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot. Big girl in a suit of armor.” Steve circled her slowly. “Take that off, what are you?”

“Genius, billionaire, socialite, philanthropist.” She said lightly.

“I know guys with none of this worth ten of you.” He said full of scorn. “Yeah, I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you fight for is yourself. You’re not the one to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on the wire and let someone else crawl over you.”

“I think I would just cut the wire.”

“Always a way out…” Steve huffed in disdain. “You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”

Toni took one step, only a couple of inches between her and Steve. The whole room had disappeared. She did not give any fuck about Nick, the Tesseract and the weapons. She just wanted to put this fucking fossil on his place.

“A hero? Like you?” It was her turn to be scornful “You’re a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.”

“Put on the suit. Let’s go a few rounds.” Steve challenged.

Thor let out a dry laugh. “You people are so petty. And tiny.”

“Yeah, this is a team.” Bruce murmured sarcastic.

“Agent Romanoff, would you escort dr Banner back to his…” Nick stared saying.

“Where? You rented my room.” Bruce countered annoyed.

“The cell was just in case…” Nick tried again.

“In case you needed to kill me, but you can’t!” Bruce shouted. “I know. I tried.”

In face of Bruce’s confession a heavy silence filled the room. Toni was shocked.

“I got low. I didn’t see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people.” Bruce said “I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?”

Bruce took one step forward and Nick and Natasha put their hands in their weapons, but it was Steve’s voice that got to Bryce.

“Doctor Banner… Put down the scepter.”

Everybody seemed to be holding their breath when Bruce looked down to his own hand, as if he hadn’t even noticed he had grabbed the scepter. They were all waiting for the worst.

Until one of the computers started to beep.

“Got it!” Toni said quickly, trying to take the attention of Bruce.

“Sorry, kids. You don’t get to see my party trick after all.” Bruce murmured, put the scepter down and going to one of the computers.

“You located the Tesseract?” Thor demanded.

“I can get there faster.” Toni said, preparing to leave the room.

“Look, all of us…” Steve tried, but Thor interrupted him.

“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is match for it.”

Steve was about to say something when he saw Toni leaving the lab. “You’re not going alone.” He said grabbing her arm and pulling her.

She slapped his hand away. “You gonna stop me?”

“Put on the suit. Let’s find out.” Steve hissed.

“Just be damn sure. I’m not afraid to hit an old man.” She provoked.

“Put on the suit.” Steve repeated.

“Oh, my God.” Bruce murmured, eyes on the screen.

That was when the lab exploded.

Steve used his body to protect Toni from the impact of the explosion and she ended on the floor, on top of him. All the others had been thrown God knows where.

They exchanged a panicked look. 

“Put on the suit.” Steve said again, this time in a whole different way.

“Yep.” Toni agreed.

The solider helped the billionaire to stand.

This was probably one of those moments where “clusterfuck” was a very appropriate choice of words…

XxX

Toni had gone through a lot of ridiculous situations, but trying to jump start an engine was probably on the top of the list. To make it better Captain Perfect was not where he was supposed to be and only a miracle prevented her of becoming shredded cheese.

Who got the short end of the stick was her suit. She would need a new one to finish this, the one she had now wouldn’t stand another fight.

Actually she was going to do just that. After she took a breath, then she would go home and get a new one.

“Are you okay, Stark?” Steve asked, offering a hand to help her up.

“I’m great.” She said refusing help. “I will be even better after a massage. Especially if it is made of edible cherry oil.”

Steve looked confused by that, but she was not wasting her time explaining that one. Fury’s voice came over the communicators.

“Agent Coulson is down.”

Suddenly Toni was wishing the engine had ripped her apart.

XxX

Toni knew very well what Nick was trying to do with that ridiculous pep talk. That son of a bitch was trying to use Phil’s death to incite them against Loki.

Unfortunately it was working.

At this point, Toni wanted to kill the Asgardian on principle, but now… Now the desire to make him pay was nearly suffocating her.

Her hand was shaking and she would sell her soul for whisky, or bourbon, even vodka. Toni’s head was spinning.

This was why she had stepped back, but her feet ended taking her to the exact place where Loki killed Phil.

“Was he married?”

Steve’s question didn’t get her by surprise, because she saw him coming closer. It didn’t mean she wanted to talk to him.

“No, he… Oh, no.” She run her fingers through her hair. “Pepper.”

“What?” Steve asked confused.

“Pepper…” Toni repeated, without even thinking that Steve probably had no idea of who Pepper was. It didn’t matter right now. “She was into him and I think… She’s going to be crushed.”

“I’m sorry.” Steve said slowly and he even seemed honest. “He seemed like a good man.”

Toni scoffed, even though her chest was burning. “He was a fucking idiot.”

“Why?” Steve asked. “For believing?”

“For taking on Loki alone.” She replied.

“He was doing his job.”

“He was out of his league.” She shouted, getting closer to Steve. “He should have waited. He should have…”

“Sometimes there isn’t a way out, Toni.” Steve said gently.

“Right. I’ve heard that one before.” She was so angry at him just for being there, so she walked by him, she needed to leave.

But Steve grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Way more gently them before. “Is this the first time you’ve lost a soldier?”

Toni turned to Steve and if looks could kill America’s biggest treasure would be seven feet under.

“We are not soldiers!” She screamed. Steve just looked at her in silence. Toni took a deep breath. “I am not marching to Fury’s fife.”

“Neither am I.” Steve promised. “He’s got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. But right now we’ve got to put this behind us and get this done.”

Toni nodded and took another deep breath. She was not going to lose it like this. Not yet. When all this was over she would plunge in pool of martini, but for now…

“Could you…” She cleared her throat. “Could you let go of me?”

Steve seemed confused for a minute, then he looked at his hand and saw he was still holding Toni’s wrist. The Captain blushed and, in any other moment, Toni would have made a joke of it. Now it didn’t feel right.

“Now…” He coughed awkwardly, “Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list…”

Toni’s eyes fell to the wall that was still stained with Phil’s blood.

“He made it personal.” She said.

“That’s not the point.”

“That is the point. That’s Loki’s point.” Toni said, the gears in her head moving on their own. “He hit us right here where we live. Why?”

“To tear us apart.” Steve answered.

“Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That’s what he wants.” She said, “He wants to beat us. He wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience.”

“Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart”

“Yeah. That was just previews.” Toni started pacing, things were finally coming together. “This is opening night. And Loki, he’s a full tilt diva, right? Even more than me. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…”

Toni stopped and Steve was still waiting for her to finish the thought, but she already knew where Loki was going to be.

“Son of a bitch.” She murmured before leaving.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE IS NOTHING NEW HERE. JUST A FRIEND CHECKED IT FOR ME.
> 
> So it's kinda beta-ed.
> 
> Sooooo... Wow!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the kudos. I am so surprised and so happy!
> 
> This chapter is being posted without my beta checking it. I hope it is not too terrible, but she has been very busy. Actually if anyone knows anyone willing to be a beta I would really appreciate it. I have a bunch of others fanfictions that I would like to translate to English, so I will need a lot of help.
> 
> Anyway... Let's get on with it.
> 
> I apologize now, since this chapter is all movie with only some small changes. Next one will be more original, I promise.

Toni had to make some quick repairs on her suit to be able to leave the helicarrier and go to New York, but Mark VI was definitely on its last breath. She couldn't go against Loki in it, so Toni had to make arrangements.

The scientist – poor doctor Selvig – looked madder than a hatter and was currently activating that fucking Cube on top of Toni's beautiful building. The billionaire tried shooting the machine that held the Tesseract, but there was a barrier around it. Jarvis informed her that it was unbreachable. (1)

"Yeah, I got that." Toni snorted, then saw Loki on her balcony, on her penthouse. "Plan B."

"Madam, Mark VII is not ready for deployment." Jarvis warned.

"Then skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock." She snapped with no patience.

Toni landed on the balcony and had to watch Loki's smirk. When she got her hands on that asshole…

She started walking towards the door, barely noticing her suit being disassembled by her machine. She could feel Loki's eyes on her the whole time. Toni ran her fingers through her hair, threw it over her shoulder and tilted her boobs.

Diva to diva… That pale jerk was about to get the ass kicking of his life.

"Please, tell me you are going to appeal to my humanity." Loki said in a mocking tone as soon they were both inside the penthouse.

"Nope." Toni replied calmly.

Loki eyed her from head to toe and frowned. "Seducing?" He said and was that a bit of… Revulsion on his tone?

"Uh, I didn't think I was your type, per se, but I'm game if you are." She said good naturedly to him. His expression was answer enough, and funny as hell. "Thought so. Actually I'm planning on threatening you."

"You should have left your armor on for that." Loki said, the asshole smirk coming back.

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny." She smiled softly. "Would you like a drink?" Toni walked to the bar.

"Stalling me won't change anything." Loki said.

"No, no, no. Threatening." Toni corrected. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one."

Loki gave an impatient snort and walked towards the window.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that." He said, looking at the sky. "What have I to fear?" He turned back to Toni.

The brunette opened her most expensive bourbon. God knew if she would be alive by the end of that day, so she might as well enjoy life's little pleasures, like a 10 thousand-dollar bottle of alcohol.

"The Avengers." She finally answered.

Loki shrugged in a way that showed he had no idea what she was talking about. Yeah, she got it. She did feel weird saying out loud.

"It's what we call ourselves. Sort of like a team." Toni explained. "'Earth's Mightiest Heroes', that kind of thing."

"Yes. I've met them." And by Loki's tone, his opinion of said team was quite clear.

"Yeah," Toni gave an amused little laugh, "takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod;" Loki rolled his eyes, "a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of masters assassins and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

Loki didn't seem overly concerned with his potential opponents, strolling around the room like he freaking owned it. Toni took advantage of his distraction to grab the bracelet that was on the counter and put it on her wrist. Now it was up to Jarvis…

"That was the plan." He said with an annoying amount of satisfaction.

"Not a great plan." Toni sipped her drink "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army." Loki insisted.

"We have a Hulk."

"I thought the beast had wandered off." Loki commented, vaguely curious.

"You're missing the point." Toni rolled her eyes and got closer to him "There's no throne, there's no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you." She saw the demi-god's hand tighten around the scepter "Because if we can't protect Earth, you can be damn well sure we will avenge it." Her mouth was dry, so she sipped her drink again.

Loki looked really pissed at her right now, which kind of was the plan, but… What now?

"How will your friends have time for me…" he started, coming closer "when they are so busy fighting you?"

Thinking back and taking into account what happened to Barton and Selvig, Toni should have been way more concerned with that. But, before she could do anything else – and, let's be honest, she would probably just make another smart-ass comment – Loki raised the scepter and put it against her chest.

The only thing that really happened what the metallic "click" when the tip of it hit the arc reactor on Toni's chest. Loki tried again, but the result was exactly the same.

"This usually works." Loki said confused.

"Well, performance issues." Toni said supportingly "It's not uncommon, trust me on this." She stage whispered to him "One out of five…"

Loki, obviously done with games, grabbed her by the throat and threw on the floor.

"Jarvis, anytime now." She called getting up.

Loki grabbed her by the neck, lifting Toni up, until her toes barely touched the floor. "You will all fall before me." He hissed at her ear.

"Deploy!" Toni screamed "Deploy!"

Loki threw the billionaire out of the window and Toni just wished Jarvis was as amazing as she kept saying he was.

A few seconds later, Mark VII came flying out of the same window, fitting itself to her body, stopping her from hitting the ground in the nick of time. She managed to turn and started flying up, full speed until she was face to face with Loki, who was probably hoping to admire the sight of her body splashed on the sidewalk.

"And there's one other person you pissed off." She told him "His name was Phil."

She attacked Loki before he had the chance to respond. She raised her hand and blasted the asshole right into the wall.

Obviously – since portals have some sense of dramatic timing – this was when a very strong light came from the top of the building, reaching the sky and ripping a hole in it.

From that hole… Well, weird things came out.

"Right." Toni was looking up "Army."

Toni took a deep breath and started flying even higher, towards the sky and the hole in it, shooting as many of those aliens as she could. But they were too many. She couldn't do it alone.

Where the hell was the rest of the team when she needed those jerks? That was why she never would play-

"Stark, we're on your three, headed north east." Natasha's voice came from the earpiece.

"What? Did you stop for drive-thru?" She muttered "Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

Stark heard shooting and explosions and decided that those aliens were taken down by Nat. Ten down, just another thousand to go.

"Madam, we have more incoming." Jarvis informed.

"Fine. Let's keep them occupied."

XxX

Toni couldn't think of one day of her life that been worse than this one. So full of fear, anxiety and a constant state of despair. She couldn't stop wondering if the others were okay, if they were alive. That was why she never worked on teams!

And to make it a party, Fury calls in to let them know there is a missile on the way.

Maybe jumping head first into the wormhole hadn't been the best of the plans, but it did seem like a solution. She would have been happy to hear Pepper's voice one last time, but then again, perhaps it was a good thing that Pepper didn't hear her voice in such a moment.

Because it was the last one, wasn't it?

She got into the hole expecting never to leave again. She kind of wanted to ask the Captain what he thought about it. Who wasn't the one to make the sacrifice play now, huh?

Toni could remember the darkness, some lonely stars sparkling, then falling and nothing else.

Until the roar.

"What the hell?" The sky was too bright, her chest hurt.

The Hulk was close by, thumping his chest and roaring. Thor and the Captain were there too.

"What just happened?" she asked looking around "Please tell me I wasn't kissed and missed it!"

Steve shook his head and smiled. "We won." He said simply.

"Alright. Hey." She said with fake cheer "Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma?" She was mainly asking the Hulk "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"We're not finished yet." Thor indicated.

Toni sighed. "Then shawarma after."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one is the last. Of this part. Yes, there is more. A lot more.
> 
> (1) It was like this in the movie, but does this word actually exists?


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for all the delay on this chapter! To make it faster I just finished and published. My new amazing lovely beta will check it later, then I’ll update.
> 
> WOW. Seriously guys I am shocked and in love with all of you. Thank you so much for all the kudos, favorites, comments, all the support. You make writing even more fun.
> 
> So, this is the last one. Here.
> 
> Yes, there is a sequel to this, called “A Dama Vingadora”, which I am still not sure how to translate exactly. My beta suggested “The Lady Avenger”, any thoughts? That fanfic has a total of 20 chapters of pure fluffiness and luv, we will jump head first on Thor 2, a lot of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America 2.
> 
> But back here… Last chapter, spoilers from “Avengers” (the first movie), a major change in the end of the movie and what would be the hook for AoS first episode… And, of course, lots of love.

Toni wasn’t opposed to having a drink with Loki, but nobody paid her any mind. They ended tying the Evil Diva and dropping him at SHIIELD’s HQ, that one that is basically in the freaking middle of New York, and then they went to grab a bite.

They also got the Tesseract and put in in a super secure vault in Stark Tower. There was no fucking way in hell that thing was going back to Fury’s hands.

The couple that owned the joint was cleaning up after all the mess the aliens left behind, but they insisted on feeding the Avengers. Shawarma was nice.

Now, looking around, Toni could barely believe where she was. And with whom.

Everybody was quiet, not for lack of talking subjects. More likely it was the shock that had finally settled on all of them, and now they were realizing that they don’t really knew each other. Though a couple of hours ago they had almost died together, they knew close to nothing about each other.

Toni watched Thor plunge through his food. She knew of Doctor Selvig and Thor’s terrestrial ladylove was, as far as Toni knew, a genius on astrophysics. Maybe she should get in touch with them and see where that would lead. Bruce, to whom they got some SHIELD scrubs for him to wear, was eating silently. Toni was worried he would have some kind of bad funk going on, blaming himself or whatever, but for now he seemed okay, almost in peace.

Right now the most interesting figures at the table were Natasha and Clint. Toni didn’t know what the thing was between those two, but they looked very comfortable with each other. Clint had one of his legs casually thrown over Natasha’s chair and she would put her hand on his thigh from time to time. There was something going on there and Toni wanted to know what it was.

Steve… Well, she didn’t want to think about him at the moment. They were two completely different people and half of the time the billionaire wanted to strangle him for being such a stick in the mud. The other half of the time she kept wondering how it would be to tear his clothes apart. Not the kind of thought she should be entertaining right now…

Steve bothered her just because he was there, so she wouldn’t talk to him or even think about him. It was much easier that way.

When they finished eating and the owners of the joint refused to charge them anything – Toni would ask Pepper to arrange the rebuilding of the place ASAP –they left to make their way back to SHIELD. 

Toni expected a lot of things, but seeing Pepper inside the building, mingling with the agents, wasn’t one of those things. She was wearing one of those lovely power suits of hers, a pair of black Lamboutins and she seemed desperate.

“Pepper?”

Upon hearing Toni’s voice, the redhead turned immediately. “Toni!” She came walking in the billionaire’s direction. “Oh my God! When I saw you on the news... Don’t you ever do that to me again! I thought you were going to die and I would never see you again.”

Toni raised her hands, because Pepper might not be the Hulk, but getting slapped wasn’t high on her lists of priorities. “Pepper, I’m fine. I swear.”

“I was so scared.” Pepper declared before throwing her arms around Toni’s neck and kissing her.

It was amazing kissing Pepper when she was taller than Toni, like now. Actually, kissing Pepper was always amazing. So Toni just put her hands around Pepper’s waist and went with it. Unfortunately, it was a very short kiss with a distinct lack of tongue.

When Pepper let her go, Toni was still a bit shocked. “Well, in that case… Yes, I almost died. It was awful. It still hurts.”

Pepper threw her a look, but she had a small smile on her face.

“OK, I’m sorry.” Toni said, even though she wasn’t feeling all that sorry. “I couldn’t help it. But for the record: I tried to call you!”

“I was busy!” The redhead defended herself. “Crying in front of the TV, because you were carrying a nuke into a black hole!”

“Well, next time, answer the freaking phone. My last words were almost lost because you didn’t pick up the phone.” Toni replied. “And for your information, that wasn’t a black hole. Actually it was a…”

Somebody cleared their throat. Both women turned at the same time to be confronted by the rest of the Avengers. Pepper blushed, whereas Toni smiled broadly.

“Dear teammates, let me introduce you all to this amazing redhead… Pepper Potts, CEO of my company and the almost love of my life.” She said proudly.

“Almost love?” Pepper arched a brow.

“It came really close.” Toni teased with a smirk.

Pepper ignored her and looked at Natasha. “Nat. How are you?”

“Been better.” The assassin answered. “You?”

“Well, apart from Toni almost scaring me to death, I’m fine.” The redheads laughed, ignoring Toni’s pout.

Natasha proceeded to introduce Pepper properly to the other Avengers.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Pepper asked, turning once again to Toni.

“Yeah, I am, but…” Toni stopped. She didn’t want to be the one to tell Pepper about Phil, at the same time she knew it would be better. “Agent Coulson…”

“I know.” Pepper cut her off.

“You do?” Toni was confused.

“Yes, but you don’t need to worry. He’ll be okay…”

“Pepper, he’s not going to be okay.” It was Toni’s turn to cut off the other woman. “Phil is dead.”

Pepper was looking at Toni as if she was completely crazy. “ Of course he isn’t, Toni. He got hurt pretty bad and it was touch and go for a while, but the doctors think he will make a full recovery in a couple of months.”

A very heavy silence settled among them until Steve decided to break it. “Miss Potts, who told you that?”

“Phil.” She said hesitantly. “He called me to know if I was okay, if I made it back to New York…”

“I am going to kill that son of a bitch!” Toni vociferated, marching down the hallway.

“Stark, wait!” Steve called, but she ignored him.

She stomped down the halls and the son of bitch she was looking for had the misfortune of showing up in front of her.

“Miss Stark, what are you…”

“You bastard!” Toni pulled her arm back, getting ready do punch Fury, but someone grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back.

At first she thought it was Steve, but when she looked behind her shoulder, it was Barton that was holding her. The archer didn’t seem all that happy either.

“Sir…” He said, and the word seemed to be ripped form him. “Is it true that Agent Coulson is alive?” He might appear calm, but Toni was still being held by him and she could feel the tension on his body, like he was one step from snapping.

Fury didn’t say anything, but his silence was loud and clear.

“You bastard!” Toni yelled again.

“Stark, it was needed.” He said firmly. “Otherwise…”

“’Needed?’” She yelled. “What else have you done? Dipped his card collection in some random pool of blood?”

Another silence. Toni thought she might throw up. “From now on SHIELD doesn’t exist to me.” She declared. “You all stay the hell away from me, my associates and my life.”

“Stark, you are being way too emotional…”

“I never thought we would be the flawless good guys, Nick.” She cut him off. He was not getting away with calling her ‘emotional,’ like it was a woman’s flaw. “I never had any illusions about what we might need to do to go against all the monsters out there. But what you just did… The way you used us all this time… Us! We were on your side, fighting with you,” She stopped and took a breath. “I won’t be your tool, Fury. This is over.”

Toni left and Pepper hurried after her. When the brunette passed Bruce, she grabbed him by the arm and took him with them. They left SHIELD Headquarters.

XxX

“Toni?”

Toni felt her chest constrict upon hearing Pepper’s hesitation in talking to her. That was her fault. Last night, after they left SHIELD, Toni had locked herself up in her workshop with a bottle of whisky. She drank most of the time and, in what was left of it, tinkered with the suit that was pretty banged up after the battle.

She refused to speak with both Bruce and Pepper, she grumbled, got drunk and generally felt sorry for herself. A lot. Now she only felt selfish and guilty. Pepper was pretty shocked about the way they used Coulson to make them work together, but Toni knew that the redhead had wanted to see him… She didn’t because she decided to take Toni’s side.

Now she was becoming a cockblocker.

“Jarvis, stop the music.” She stated, and the workshop was immediately drowned in silence. “What’s up, Peps?” She forced herself to smile.

“Natasha just called.” The other woman said softly. “They’re going to Central Park so Thor can take the Tesseract and Loki to Asgard. Just the team. No SHIELD. No Fury. You and Bruce should go.”

“Bruce wants to go?” Toni asked.

“He thinks it’ll bring some kind of closure.” Pepper said. “He’s quite spiritual.”

“Somebody gotta be…”

They traded a long look.

“You know if you wanna talk to with the Agent…”

“Are you going, Toni?” Pepper cut her off.

“Yeah.” She sighed. “I just need to retouch my makeup.”

XxX

Of course, before she could even resemble a human being, Toni had to throw up all the whisky, take 3 aspirins and apply a pound of makeup. But after that she got her best “business” Chanel, her favourite black Lamboutins and her Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. Then she grabbed Bruce by the jacket, picked up the Tesseract, sat in the newest car in her garage and left for Central Park. 

Bruce was eerily silent in face of it all.

“Sorry.” Toni spoke up, because the quiet bothered her. “I shouldn’t have pulled you that way yesterday, like you were mine or something. Maybe you wanted to stay with them…”

“I didn’t.” Bruce said softly but honestly. “After everything, I was already trying to figure out how to sneak out”.

Toni smiled. “Bruce, Stark Tower will always be open to you if you wanna stay. I would love to have you around. I stay in Malibu a lot, so it’s not like I’ll be in your hair all the time.”

Bruce was quiet for a long minute, staring at this hands that were in his lap. “You know... Before I would say “no” to this conversation before it even started,” He said reflexively. “But after yesterday... I really want to try, Toni. So, yes, I accept your offer.”

Toni was so shocked by the positive answer –she really thought it would take a whole lot of begging to make him want to stay –that she didn’t know what to say for a couple of seconds. Then she squealed like a five year old.

“This is going to be awesome, Bruce! I’ll finally have someone to talk science with me! We’ll be besties! We can have naked pillow fights!” She celebrated. 

“Hum... Better not.” Bruce said, but he was laughing.

Toni was so excited she didn’t even answer that. Bruce was an amazing man and she truly wanted to help him somehow; give him some sense of normalcy. Granted, life for her wasn’t really normal, or what people considered normal, but that was okay. Good intentions gotta count for something.

If Jarvis were around, he would probably go all “They do say the road to hell is paved with good intentions for a reason, madam” on her.

Toni parked right behind the black SUV, which was where Natasha was coming out with Doctor Selvig. The redhead saw her and Bruce and waved. Clint, who exited on the other side, opened the door for Thor and Loki.

“I didn’t think you’d come.” Nat said to Toni as soon as they were close.

“Don’t know if I should’ve,” Toni grumbled. “I got a hangover.”

Natasha snickered, then turned to Bruce. “How are you, doc?”

“I’m fine.” He answered, and then seemed surprised by how true that was.

“He’s going to live with me!” Toni declared, unable to help herself. “Bruce will stay at home wearing nothing but a frilly apron, cooking and cleaning, while I work and provide for the family.”

Bruce was shaking his head, (and probably questioning his decision), Natasha was looking confused and shocked, but it was the third person… The one that dropped uninvited on the conversation, that asked the funny question.

“Are you and Dr. Banner… Together now?”

Toni had her best smile on when she looked at the Captain. He was dressed like a hundred year old grandpa. Though… That was what he was. The billionaire genius was extremely satisfied by the way the Captain’s eyes dropped down her body, as if he couldn’t help it.

Her Channel suit was truly perfect. Grey, to her knees and very form fitting, in case you’re wondering. It also had a generous neckline… The arc reactor needed to breathe, after all.

“Bruce will live in Stark Tower.” She informed. “I’ll still spend most of my time in Malibu, but you’re also welcome at the Tower. No need to let anyone know. The day you finally get tired of these SHIELD assholes, you grab your stuff and move in. Actually, don’t grab any stuff; you seriously need a change in style. Pepper will help you with that.”

Steve seemed surprised. Toni could understand, because she also felt that way. She hadn’t planned on saying anything like that, she wasn’t about to turn her beautiful building into a shelter for homeless heroes. Alas, now was too late, she had already said it.

“Wow… Thanks.” Steve was still in shock.

Toni decided to talk to Natasha before she said anything else to the Capsicle. “You as well, Romanoff.” The spy had this infuriating smirk on. “The day you need it, my doors are open, as long as SHIELD stays outside.”

“Thanks, Toni.” Now her smile was more sincere.

“Same to you!” She screamed to Thor and Clint, attracting their attention to her. “Thor, just leave the psycho brother at home and you can even bring your girl. And you, bird-guy, will have to walk around shirtless. But, if you insist on walking naked, I guess I’ll have to accept.” She sighed dramatically.

Thor agreed excitedly, while Clint smirked and saluted. Yep, seeing that one naked wouldn’t be any problem. What were those arms? And that butt!

“Let’s put this show on the road” Toni declared. It was almost over.

Bruce –such a gentleman –had grabbed the suitcase with the Tesseract. Doctor Selvig got a special kind of glass container from the back of the SUV, and Bruce put the Cube inside of it.

“Well, Point Break..,” Toni approached Thor. “It’s been a pleasure.”

“Most certainly, Lady of Iron.” Thor smiled. “Our battle was a great one. Songs will be sung about this day.”

“As long as it isn’t country, I’m all for it.” She shrugged.

Thor laughed and hugged Toni. The guy was freaking huge. Actually, in that position she could just… She probably shouldn’t, but who could judge her for not passing an opportunity like this?

She wormed her arms around the God’s waist, sleazed her hands down and squeezed his ass. “Holy crap. Are you made of marble?” She asked, surprised. “I could break a tooth biting that.”

Thor –far from looking offended –threw his head back and laughed.

Selvig gave the Norse hunk the Cube, who offered the other handle to Loki to hold onto. The less charming version of Hannibal Lecter had no choice but to hold it. They were both enveloped by a strong light, and disappeared almost instantly.

“Time to go, doc.” Toni smiled at Bruce.

They said their goodbyes. Bruce even gave Nat a hug! Toni was somewhat civilized and shook hands with Steve, even though what she really wanted was to give him the same treatment she gave Thor... Then the billionaire and the crazy scientist got into her car.

“So..,” She turned a Machiavellian smile on Bruce’s direction. “Let’s build a couple of buildings and explode a couple of labs?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it.
> 
> Yes, Phil is alive. I love him!! Hahaha I regret nothing. 
> 
> Hope this wasn’t to terrible to read –grammatically speaking –I will wait for your reviews to know about the rest. Thank you so much for the support through this.
> 
> I hope to see you all in two weeks with the sequel and next Tuesday with my newest piece of fluff: “What if…” Details to be revealed ;)
> 
> Lots of love
> 
> xoxo


End file.
